More than 125 million Europeans could be exposed to levels of road traffic noise above legal guidelines. This causes a range of health problems, according to a new assessment from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

At least 110 million people are adversely affected by noise from Europe’s busiest roads alone. People need to escape this pollution and access quiet places to work, relax and live a healthy life. Such ‘quiet areas’ should be protected under EU legislation, but how does this work in practice?

In 2012, the average new van sold in the European Union emitted 180.2 g of carbon dioxide for every kilometre travelled, which is close to the 175 g CO2/km target to be gradually phased in between next year and 2017.

Many cities in Europe are changing, according to a new report which points to rapid transformations in urban transport in some areas. While cycling and efficient public transport are becoming the norm in some urban areas, Europe’s transport sector is still a major contributor to excessive levels of greenhouse gases, air pollution and noise, the report says.

The average car sold in the EU in 2012 was 9 % more fuel-efficient than the average three years before, according to a new report from the European Environment Agency (EEA). Improved technology and an increase in the share of diesel cars are the main reasons behind the fall in average CO2 emissions.

Air pollutant emissions were above legal limits in eight Member States in 2011, preliminary data shows. In 2010, 12 Member States exceeded these limits, according to final official data reported under the European Union’s National Emission Ceilings (NEC) Directive.

Road charges for heavy goods vehicles (HGVs or lorries) should reflect the varied health effects of traffic pollution in different European countries. This means charges should be much higher in some countries compared to others, according to analysis from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Ozone pollution still exceeded target levels in Europe during summer 2012, but the number of exceedances of the alert threshold was lower than in any year since monitoring started in 1997. However, almost all EU Member States failed to keep levels of the pollutant within targets set to protect human health.

Transport in Europe is responsible for damaging levels of air pollutants and a quarter of EU greenhouse gas emissions. Many of the resulting environmental problems can be addressed by stepping up efforts to meet new EU targets, according to the latest report from the European Environment Agency (EEA).

Air is a tricky subject to photograph, but this challenge has proved to be a source of inspiration for the winners of photo storycompetition ‘ImaginAIR’, organised by the European Environment Agency (EEA).